The Victors' Pool
by Antha32
Summary: Interviewer Dahlia Hunt of District 3 is reporting for the publishing of her new book- Panem's Worst Mistake- in this article as she asked the former victors- Annie, Haymitch, Johanna, Peeta, and Katniss- two big questions about their lives. All canon.


The Victors' Pool

Word Count: 1042

Form: Article

_**Interviewer Dahlia Hunt from District 3 asked the former victors of the Hunger Games- Annie Odair (Cresta), Haymitch Abernathy, Johanna Mason, Peeta Mellark, and Katniss Mellark (Everdeen)- the following questions as she prepares for her new book on Panem's Worst Mistake.**_

_**Me: What was the worst thing of it all?**_

**Annie Odair: **_(sighing and fiddling with a wedding ring on her finger nervously) The worst thing…is wishing with all your heart and soul that someone could be here, and they are not, and yet, they easily could have been. Had nothing like this happened, the father of my baby may have lived to see him born. Then again, if none of this had ever happened, who knows where we'd be now?_

**Haymitch Abernathy: **_(drinking from a vial of alcohol) Well, the worst thing would be having to look into someone's eyes and know you killed their children, whether it be with your own hands or not. (He chuckles, taking another swig.) I mean, you killed their babies. Their babies. Imagine the thought- when you're not even 16 yourself. And then you live with that guilt for the rest of your miserable life._

**Johanna Mason: **_The worst thing was waking up next to a stranger in the morning, feeling disgusted and horrible, and having to hear about how beautiful and sexy and perfect you are. Perfect. (She snorts.) And in that moment when you're perfect, you know in your heart that there is no one left in the world that cares about you._

**Peeta Mellark: **_(taking a deep breath) The worst thing is when you look at someone you've know your entire life, or even yourself, and find yourself questioning whether or not they are good or evil or friend or foe. It's when you lose yourself to a world of trying to figure out who or what every person you used to trust completely is and you feel so exhausted that you just don't know what to do anymore. (He sighs, and looks up, staring straight into my eyes.) It's when you've reached a point where you are so confused and angry that you almost killed your best friend._

**Katniss Mellark: **_(staring coldly into my eyes.) How do you pick? Really, the worst thing was all of it. The worst thing was everything. It was the fact that from the very beginning, when this all started, people took pieces of me. Some of the pieces were big pieces, pieces that I noticed were gone, but more often than not, they were pieces that were so small that I didn't even notice they were gone. It wasn't until that last piece was gone, when I looked back and saw that everything that I knew to be me was gone. Every piece was gone, taken by people who were my enemies, but also people who I thought were on my side, people I trusted. And once I realized I was gone, it was the feeling of knowing that I was never going to be the fully old me ever again. That was the worst thing._

_**Me: What represents hope for you?**_

**Annie Odair: **_Hope for me comes in my son. (She smiles, slightly.) He looks just like his father, you know. His hair is all me, and his nose too, but his eyes- those are all Finnick's. His personality too. (She giggles.) He is too funny, that boy. He's cocky and ridiculous, but he's caring. His father's son, through and through. He's hope, though, because knowing that he is going to be able to love someone with all his heart and not having to lose them is what gives me peace. _

**Haymitch Abernathy: **_Well, I guess the representation of hope for me comes in my geese. That sounds pretty damn stupid, right? (He chuckles.) It pretty much is. But the geese, they come, and I'm able to take care of them until they leave, and then they always come back. It's a cycle- it's not going to end. I can count on those geese to come every year at around the same time until the day I die to keep me company. I can hope too, that the cycle of peace, of knowing was is wrong, will keep going too, long after I'm gone, you know. (Takes another swig of a bottle.) Still sounds pretty damn stupid, though._

**Johanna Mason: **_I guess what gives me hope is knowing that there is someone out there who cares if I live or die. (She sighs.) There was a time where I could claim I didn't love anyone, that there was no one left for me to love. I thought that made me stronger, that the choice of not loving was the way to live. Until I realize I wasn't living. I wasn't living when I had no purpose to live. And I was wrong. There were plenty of people left to love who would have loved me back. I just had to find them and let them in. And I did._

**Peeta Mellark: **_What gives me hope is knowing that the children I made with the person I love will never have to go through what I went through. They are going to have a better life, filled with love and safety, then I had. They are going to get to keep their innocence, and never have to learn to hope again, or have to feel as if they cannot trust someone they know. (He meets my eyes hard.) They will never have to go through what I went through, and I cannot have a greater hope than that because no one should have to go through what I went through._

**Katniss Mellark: **_Peeta represents hope for me. He has been my savior from the beginning, and he has been my hope since before the beginning even started. (She smiles slightly for a moment.) The best thing that ever happened to me was him, and I am lucky that someone like him can love someone like me, and always, always be at my side. He is the only person in my life who, no matter what happened, has really, truly been there for me, and I will never be able to thank him enough for that. _

_**For more info on the remaining victors of the infamous Hunger Games, please enjoy Panem's Greatest Mistake by Dahlia Hunt, which comes out later this month.**_

_**A/N: Cannot decide if I like this or not. I'd love to hear what you thought of it. Thanks. **_


End file.
